Swimming Pool Blog

5 Ways to Save Pool Water

2012 will go down as one of the driest years in recent history. Drought conditions struck throughout the United States this year, prompting city and country officials to enact water restrictions and conservation efforts.

Water is a scarce resource, and officials in San Angelo, Texas are consideringplacing restrictions on being able to add fill water to swimming pools. Farmers, factories and families are all in need of water, and smart use of the resource will stretch the gallon further.

Water is a somewhat limited resource in some parts of the country that rely on a large snow pack or seasonal rains. Swimming pools are known consumers of water. It leaks out of the pool or evaporates into thin air, or is pumped out and splashed out. Most used water does eventually return, in a cycle that we learned about in first grade, which could theoretically return the same drop of water to the same pool years later. However, pool water is treated and filtered, and so is water from the garden hose, and this cost repeats itself when water is "wasted".

Secondly, in the case of more drought prone areas, water must travel huge distances, through natural aquifers and man-made aqueducts to reach your house, and eventually, your pool. The cost of bringing water to your pool, and the demand for it, has increased in many arid regions, especially in the west and southern states.

Population explosions in certain areas have increased the thirst of large cities. In some parts of the country, Water wars are being waged, pitting farmers and fishermen against families and factories. Water rights, are constantly being challenged and redesigned, as our population expands and shifts.

Swimming pools are frequently targeted as huge consumers of water, and when scarcity of the resource comes to Main Street USA, your city council may feel pressure from some groups to limit pool construction or everyday activities such as discharging water or filling your swimming pool.

How to Save Pool Water

Backwash for only the amount of time necessary.

Use Cartridge filtration - no backwashing.

Use a solar blanket, or any kind of cover.

Lower pool heater thermostat

Find & Fix pool leaks

Before the water police come knocking on your door, or peeking over your fences - you can get ready by doing these certain things above. You can also enforce a strict "No Splashing" rule ~ just kidding.

If you have a solar cover, use it, to stop evaporation, which can be as much as 0.4 inches per day in the dry summer heat. This can amount to several hundred gallons daily on a large pool.Pool Covers can stop up to 70% of evaporation. Liquid pool covers, also known as liquid solar blanket, saves water by forming a molecular shield on the surface of your pool water.

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